In patients with coronary artery disease, surgical revascu- larization with arterial or venous bypass grafts not only relieves symptoms, but also prolongs life. The result of such interventions, however, is frequently impaired by graft dysfunction and occlusion. This monograph highlights the clinical importance of coronary artery bypass graft disease and, in particular, the use of modern diagnostic techniques to assess graft structure and function. The molecular and cellular mechanisms of coronary bypass graft disease are ex- tensively discussed with several chapters devoted to prophy- lactic...

Since the endothelium plays such an important role in the pathophysiology of the circulatory system, the readers attention is directed here towards the possible involvement of these polypeptides in the aetiology of ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular accidents, hypertension, atherosclerosis and renal failure.

Ever since Richard Bright discovered the link between kidney disease and cardiac hypertrophy inhispioneeringworkin 1827, thefieldofrenovascularandrenal parenchy- matous hypertension has been a transatlantic adventure. Towards the end of the nine- teenth century, Tigerstedt and Bergman discovered that the kidneys contain a factor whichraisedbloodpressurewheninjected intointactanimals. Theynamedthesubstance renin, which is now known as the crucial enzyme activating the angiotensin aldosterone system, which is so pertinent in the regulation of blood pressure and kidney function. After this...